East & West Oakland Residents United for Common Sense Encampment Management Policy Reform: a coalition of independent residents, neighborhood leaders, and grassroots organizations working together to restore public safety, environmental health, and human dignity to our public spaces while ensuring City resources are used effectively to support Oakland residents most in need.

For far too long, East and West Oakland residents have lived on the frontlines of a humanitarian crisis that has spiraled into a public health and safety emergency. The City’s current Encampment Management Policy, adopted in 2020, was originally intended to balance compassion with accountability. Instead, it has created loopholes that prevent effective enforcement, enable unsafe and unsanitary encampments to multiply, and waste precious taxpayer resources without delivering real stability for housed or unhoused Oaklanders.

We urge the Oakland City Council to swiftly adopt Councilmember Ken Houston’s proposed 2025 Encampment Abatement Policy, which replaces the outdated 2020 policy with clear, practical, and enforceable measures that put the health, safety, and dignity of Oaklanders first.

The facts speak for themselves:

• Homelessness is rising. Oakland’s 2024 point-in-time count identified 5,485 unhoused individuals, an increase of 8.5% since 2022. The largest growth has been among people living in vehicles (RVs and cars parked along our streets and sidewalks.)
• Encampments are unsafe for everyone. Fires, assaults, drug activity, untreated medical emergencies, blocked sidewalks, hazardous waste, and illegal electrical wiring are daily realities. These conditions endanger both the unhoused and housed residents who live nearby.
• Environmental hazards are mounting. Abandoned and inhabited vehicles leak oil, fuel, and chemicals into our streets and storm drains. Improper disposal of human waste threatens public health and pollutes the San Francisco Bay. Propane tanks and makeshift wiring pose constant fire risks.
• Taxpayers are bearing the burden. Oakland spends millions on homelessness programs and encampment management, yet the crisis continues to worsen. Money is being mismanaged or spread too thin, rather than focused on solutions that stabilize our communities.

East and West Oakland are home to some of the city’s most diverse and historically underserved communities. The overwhelming majority of hardworking, taxpaying residents here are working-class families, renters, and people of color. Many of us already struggle with rising housing costs, crime, and underinvestment in public infrastructure. We cannot be asked to shoulder the additional burden of unmanaged encampments that block sidewalks, attract illegal dumping, and overwhelm emergency services.

At the same time, Oakland’s unhoused population is not a monolith. Many include longtime Oaklanders — especially Black seniors — who were pushed out of stable housing by skyrocketing rents and systemic disinvestment. These individuals deserve real pathways to stability, not endless cycles of displacement from one encampment to another. The current policy has failed both housed and unhoused residents.

The proposed 2025 Encampment Abatement Policy corrects the failures of the past by:

• Closing loopholes so City departments and police can finally work together to enforce laws consistently and effectively.
• Redefining “encampments” to exclude vehicles, allowing Oakland DOT and police to cite, tag, and tow RVs and cars under state and local law—ending the unsafe practice of allowing inhabited vehicles to remain indefinitely in the public right-of-way.
• Maintaining compassion by requiring a 7-day notice before non-urgent closures, while clarifying conditions for emergency closures (24- to 72-hour notice or immediate action when threats to health and safety exist).
• Realigning Oakland law with state and federal precedent, including the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that allows cities to act without being required to offer shelter before clearing encampments, provided actions are reasonable and humane.
• Protecting communities from hazards such as sidewalk blockages that violate ADA accessibility laws, illegal dumping, fires, sewage leaks, and other public health threats.

Our Vision for Oakland: We support policies that balance compassion with accountability. Reforming the Encampment Management Policy is not about punishment — it is about restoring order, safety, and dignity to our neighborhoods while ensuring resources are directed where they are most effective.

We want a city where:

• Children can walk safely to school without navigating blocked sidewalks.
• Seniors can leave their homes without fear of fires or crime tied to unmanaged encampments.
• Public dollars are spent responsibly, with a focus on stabilizing vulnerable Oakland residents — both housed and unhoused — who are willing to work together for sustainable solutions.

The people of East and West Oakland have spoken clearly, repeatedly, and urgently: we need change. The City Council has the responsibility and authority to act. By adopting the 2025 Encampment Abatement Policy, Oakland can take a crucial step toward stability, equity, and common sense governance.

We call on the Oakland City Council to listen to the voices of the majority — working families, seniors, and community leaders across East and West Oakland — and adopt this legislation without delay.